Sis. Precious...

 

 She is doing so well! 

She has been moved to South Sacramento...

 It's a different area completely, than the one she just left..

 and She LOVES it!

England...Sacred Ground...

 

The Missionary Boy has been home for about 6 weeks now. I have thought many times I would sit and write about what it has been like to have him come home. Our life has been a whirlwind since the moment he arrived. Actually that would be true of his actual birth! He has taken us on quite a parental ride...That Boy! There are days that when I think if his mission, it seems like such a blur. There are other days that I feel the feelings again...those of a Missionary Mother.

  They are feelings that won't soon be forgotten.

(Pres. and Sis. Millar)

When he left for his mission, a very wise man told us that... "we would mourn the loss of the boy... and we would celebrate the man that returns to us." And he was right. He isn't our "boy" anymore. He is now a man. He is very physically different, he has a very different view of the world now. He is concerned for others...he feels the pain and sadness of others...he loves more deeply...he loves sacred things...he is quick to help...he loves his family...very simply...he is grown up!

 

I am sure that leaving England was bittersweet for our "boy" turned man.

That place will always represent beautiful change and growth for him. It will be sacred ground for him, as it will be for us, his parents. It will be a place that he remembers with love for the great learning that took place there...even though sometimes it was very hard.

As a mother of a missionary, England will always hold a very special place in my heart,

as the home of my son when he was away from me. Had he been sent to Mexico, I would have had some point of reference to understand the experiences that he was having,

the food he was eating...the weather he was enjoying. I did not have that for England.

 To imagine what the people, the food and the weather were like was very difficult for me.

  It was foreign for him and it was foreign for us.

  Now that culture has become comfortable and familiar to him.

  Now Mexico seems a little different.

 

And so he said good-bye, not only to England, but to a time of life that happens only once.

A time he will never revisit. He climbed aboard a plane and headed to a land that was familiar but now different. It is different because he is different...in a very good and blessed way. Although he is happy to be home, he longs for his England, and the life of a missionary that he knew there. He is learning how to be this new man in his old world. It has been so exciting for him to begin to plan his future, but it has also been very sad for him, to see that some things and some people have not changed and probably never will and yet so much has changed and how will he fit into it all again. Returning from a mission is a hard thing. It is a time of great transition.

 

 

Strangely, I feel the same. I am a missionary mother who is adjusting too. I loved every moment of having a missionary in the mission field. I could have never anticipated the joy and great blessings that would be ours as a family during this special time. It was a sacred time for sure. I still find myself drawn to "all things England"
 and maybe I will always be.

 It is a place that I will always have a deep affection for...and maybe..

.if I am lucky...one day I will walk on the very soil that "raised" my son into the

 "new man" that we are getting to know all over again.

I Think We Are Just About Ready....;)

Missionary Monday

Elder Jones and Elder Von Allmen... dear friends..."Brothers"

Last week The Missionary Boy told us that his zone had gotten

special permission to go to a place in England where the Mormon.org

campaign started... He was sooooo excited!

 

Another thing that makes the Missionary Boy very happy.... Elder Von Allmen.

  He calls him his "Son" because he trained when he was a new missionary.

  He is a wonderful young man from Switzerland. They are again in the same Zone...and The Missionary Boy is really happy about that! These pictures came from Elder Von Allmen's mom...

who has also become a very dear friend...

...to me!

Thank you Uli!!

Missionary Monday...

 

Elder Jones...and...Elder Snow.... Didcot, England

 

Elder Benedeitti, France (Grandson), Elder Von Allmen, Switzerland (Son), Elder Jones, Mexico (Father)...a very international family!;)

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Yesterday morning 5 missionary calls arrived at our home.

After being gone for several days, we knew we would come home to The Boy's call, but

we had no idea that several other calls would also arrive.  On my dining room table sat the

unopened calls....all together....the futures of some fine young men.

A few calls were made.  We organized our family for the opening of The Boy's call, and I went to work.

My stomach was in knots all day long....The Boy was traveling home from Safford, after attending Prom

with a sweet friend, and around 7:00 our home began to fill with family and friends.  The Boy arrived around

7:20.  A little earlier one of the young men stopped by to pick up his call.....Alejandro Hinojos, who has

been with The Boy since Kindergarten....he called a short while later to let us know he had been called

to the Dominican Republic!  Another young man arrived a little after Alex, Aaron Guiterrez, it was his

18th birthday and his entire family had gathered to celebrate....he called a little later and announced that he

had been called to the Dominican Republic too!  One will go to the East mission and the other to the West mission.  Pretty incredible!  Once the entire family had gathered.....and many friends arrived.....

 

.....The Boy opened his call....with his Aunt Shauna standing over his shoulder....

she actually read his assignment before he did and looked directly at me when she realized where he would be going....with look that at the moment...I didn't understand, but when he read...

London, England South....I understood.  He was in shock....we were in shock...everyone was in

shock.  No one in our area has been called to England!  He will report August 26, 2011 and

he will be speaking English.  He will also be reporting to the MTC in England.

The Farmer was the first to grab him and give him a big father's hug.....and The Boy

hugged back really hard.  The group that had gathered cheered...the Mom cired...and that is why the above

picture is blurry..;)....Everyone hugged...it was a very special experience.

The Boy was on one phone with the Grandparents Skinner and on another phone

with The Farmer's Mother who is out of town at the moment.

Cousins hugged tight....they have spent their entire lives together....it is going to be very

hard for them to be apart.

The future missionaries....

The whole gang.  Once The Boy opened his call....we all climbed into our cars and headed to the home

of Mi Hijo (Jonathan)....so he could open his call.  He was assigned to Ecquador...he was thrilled

his Mom was a little sad.  We returned to our cars and returned to our home for cake and visiting.

It was a wonderful moment for our family, both immediate and extended!  Like Aunt S. said..."this

day will rank up with the greatest days of your life....your marriage....the birth of your children...and

the opening of the mission call."   and she is right!!

Thanks to Aunt Kim for such great missionary pictures of The Boy. 

She knows how to capture the personality of The Boy.  I guess only an Aunt could do that.

We love you Aunt Kim!